Method and apparatus for initiating telephone calls using a data network

ABSTRACT

In accordance with the present invention a process for initiating a telephone call, comprises the steps, performed by a processor, of: receiving a network request identifying a telephone number and an account number; retrieving from the database a telephone number associated with the account number; and signaling a telephone switch to place a call connecting instruments corresponding to the telephone number from the request and the telephone number retrieved from the database.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] A. Field of the Invention

[0002] This invention generally relates to systems for making telephonecalls and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for initiatingtelephone calls on a telephone network in response to requests from adata network.

[0003] B. Description of the Related Art

[0004] The Internet, fueled by the phenomenal popularity of the WorldWide Web (WWW or Web), has exhibited exponential growth over the pastfew years. Recent surveys estimate that the number of users exceeds 30million and that the growth continues.

[0005] One reason for this incredible growth is that it is easy forusers to access the Internet. They need only standard computerequipment, such as a home personal computer with a display and modem,and an Internet connection. Several types of Internet connections areavailable, including connections through Internet Service Providers(ISPs). To use an Internet connection from an ISP, for example, the userdials into a computer at the ISP's facility using the modem and astandard telephone line. The ISP's computer in turn provides the userwith access to the Internet. Communication on the Internet uses theTCP/IP protocol.

[0006] Through this Internet connection, the user accesses informationon the Web using a computer program called a “Web browser,” such as theNetscape Navigator™ from Netscape Communications Corporation. Toaccomplish this, the user gives the Web browser a Uniform ResourceLocator (URL) for an object on the Internet, for example, a documentcontaining information of interest. The document is referred to as a“Web page,” and the information contained in the Web page is called“content.” Web pages often refer to other Web pages using “hypertextlink” or “hyperlinks” that include words or phrases representing theother pages in a form that gives the browser a URL for the correspondingWeb page when a user selects a hyperlink. Hyperlinks are made possibleby building Web pages using the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML).

[0007] The URL identifies a specific computer on the Internet, called a“Web Server,” and, more particularly, the location of a Web page locatedon the Web Server. The Web browser retrieves the Web page and displaysit for the user.

[0008] With such a large number of existing users, and the estimatesthat the number continues to grow at a high rate, companies areinvesting significant resources to develop ways of using the Internet tobetter service old customers and attract new ones. For example, it isnot unusual to find information on available products included in acompany's Web pages.

[0009] Some companies also distribute information through the Internet.This can be done, for example, using email or Web pages. Newsgroups sendemail on current events to participants, and newspaper publishers, suchas The Wall Street Journal, have digital versions of newspapersavailable on the Web.

[0010] When customers have questions concerning products and servicesmarketed on the Web, they contact the company by, for example, sendingan email message or calling a toll free telephone number to speak with acompany representative. A significant benefit of product marketing onthe Web is the speed in which a company can process orders. However,this benefit is lost when companies are unable to respond immediately toquestions from potential customers.

[0011] Email can contribute to such a delay because traffic on theInternet can prevent email messages from reaching their destinations foras long as several hours or even days. Furthermore, email is notreliable, messages are often dropped or corrupted in transit. Email canalso be used for product orders but concerns over the security ofsending information like credit card numbers over the Internet have, todate, stifled the growth in this area.

[0012] In the case of a toll free call, customers often wait on the linebefore a company representative is available. There is thus a need for aconvenient method whereby customers can obtain fast and reliable servicein a manner that eliminates the long wait-time often associated withemail and toll free calls.

[0013] Although the Internet was originally designed for datatransmission, it is now a host for voice transmissions as well. Forexample, audio interface software like NetPhone from Electric MagicCompany enables phone-like connections over the Internet. NetPhoneoperates by compressing audio and sending it over a TCP/IP connection asdigital information. According to Electric Magic, NetPhone interfaceswith Netscape, allows multiple active calls, and provides caller IDservice. The major advantage of this type of technology is that itpermits users to make telephone calls that bypass telephone companiesand their charges for calls.

[0014] The Internet, however, is designed for data transmission, notvoice. Thus, the quality of voice transmission on the Internet istypically not very good.

[0015] The ability to communicate easily may be the underlying reasonfor the Internet's enormous success. But not all communications schemeshave enjoyed the same kind of success.

[0016] For example, telephone conferencing, where at least three partiesin different locations are included in a single telephone conversation,has been available for many years. At first, the telephone companyprovided conferencing as a service for a fee. In this case, the customerprovided the telephone numbers for those to be included in a conferencecall, and the company connected the conference call. Later, conferencecalling became a feature of PBX systems, which are typically used bylarger organizations with many phones.

[0017] Additionally, some people repeatedly make conference calls to thesame group. This means that they have to go through the same routinewith a telephone company (i.e., specifying the same telephone numbersfor the call) each time they wish to make a conference call.Alternatively, companies can provide an added service of storing thisinformation. The typical PBX system does not provide such a storagefeature or eliminate the need for the user to dial each telephone numberfor the group every time he wishes to make a conference call.

[0018] Those skilled in the art will recognize, however, that it wouldbe more desirable to give the user greater control and flexibility overconference calling.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0019] Systems consistent with the present invention, as embodied andbroadly described herein, overcome the limitations due to the prior artby integrating equipment of existing telephone companies with theInternet to provide enhanced telephone services on a public switchedtelephone network via requests from the Internet. In accordance with thepresent invention, a process for initiating a telephone call, comprisesthe steps, performed by a processor, of: receiving a network requestidentifying a telephone number and an account number; retrieving fromthe database a telephone number associated with the account number; andsignaling a telephone switch to place a call connecting instrumentscorresponding to the telephone number from the request and the telephonenumber retrieved from the database.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in andconstitute a part of this specification, illustrate an embodiment of theinvention and, together with the description, serve to explain theadvantages and principles of the invention. In the drawings,

[0021]FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary architecture for atelephone service system consistent with the present invention;

[0022]FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the components of a telephone servicesystem consistent with the present invention;

[0023]FIG. 3 is an operation flow diagram used to explain the operationof a telephone service system consistent with the present invention;

[0024]FIGS. 4 and 5 is a flow chart of the steps performed by thetelephone service system to process a “call me now” request in a mannerconsistent with the present invention; and

[0025] FIGS. 6-11 is a flow chart of the steps performed by thetelephone service system to process customer service requests forenhanced telephone services in a manner consistent with the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] Reference will now be made in detail to an implementation of thepresent invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Whereverpossible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout thedrawings and the following description to refer to the same or likeparts.

[0027] The present invention may be implemented by computers andtelephone switching equipment. The architecture for and procedures toimplement this invention, however, are not conventional, because theyprovide enhanced telephone services on a system that blends features ofthe Internet with a public switched telephone network.

[0028] A. Overview

[0029] Systems consistent with the present invention provide enhancedtelephone services through the Internet by connecting a telephoneservice system to the Internet. The telephone service system includes acomputer server and a telephone switch. Users access the server torequest enhanced telephone services such as immediate-response customerservice calling (referred to as the “call me now” function) andconferencing. The server then signals the telephone switch to make callson a public switched telephone network in accordance with the userrequests.

[0030] B. Telephone Service System

[0031] As illustrated in FIG. 1, multiple computers 110 a, 110 b, 110 c,and 110 d are connected to the Internet, 120. Although FIG. 1 shows onlyfour computers, 110 a through 110 d, connected to the Internet, 120,those skilled in the art will recognize that the number of computersthat can be connected to the Internet is potentially unlimited.

[0032] A telephone service system 130 connects the Internet to a publicswitched telephone network that in turn connects multiple telephones 140a through 140 d. System 130 implements the Internet-based enhancedtelephone services according to the present invention. In general,Internet users on computers 110 transmit service requests over theInternet to system 130 that in turn processes the requests accordingly.Service requests include the “call me now” function and other customerservices like direct calling, phone book management, and conferencing.

[0033]FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the components of telephone servicesystem 130. System 130 includes a web server 210, a telephone switch220, and a database 230. Web server 210 and switch 220 may beconventional hardware. Acceptable server computers include IBMcompatible machines with Windows 95® operating system, or conventionalworkstations, and the Sparcstation® manufactured by Sun MicrosystemsCorp. and the Solaris® operating system. Telephone switch 220 may be,for example, model VCO80, manufactured by Suma Four Inc.

[0034] The present invention uses a public switched telephone networkoperated by Sprint, though other voice-based networks may be used.

[0035] Web server 210 includes a number of software modules, preferablywritten in the C++ programming language, that implement requests fortelephone services. Server 210 uses information stored in database 230to implement enhanced telephone services in a manner consistent with thepresent invention. Database 230 includes customer account information,such as a customer's account number, telephone number, and billinginformation. Database 230 also includes customer-specified informationsuch as phone lists and conference call groups. Most conventionaldatabase management systems, such as Sybase and Oracle, may be used tomanage database 230 and to implement instructions associated withmodifying and accessing database 230.

[0036] Communication with web server 210 is performed in the typical wayused for most Internet communications. As illustrated in FIG. 3 forexample, a user 310 transmits a uniform resource locator (URL) to theInternet using a web browser 320 installed on a computer with anInternet connection. Web server 210 then transmits a selected web pagefor the browser 320 to display. Web server 210 accesses database 230 andinstructs telephone switch 220 as needed to process requests from user310.

[0037] For purposes of this description, a “user” is one who initiates acall. If the “user” pays for the call then he is also referred to as a“customer.” Thus, all customers are considered users but not all usersare customers. This permits customers like companies marketing productsand services on the Internet to provide users with access to the “callme now” function (described in detail below). Customers also have accessto other enhanced telephone services, as described below.

[0038] D. Enhanced Telephone Services

[0039] Systems consistent with the present invention provide a variety aenhanced telephone services that take advantage of the Internetconnection provided by system 130. Before permitting a customer to usethese services, either directly for calls or indirectly for the “call menow” function, web server 210 requires that all customers establish anaccount. When doing so, a customer is assigned a unique account number.To establish an account, a customer must also provide billinginformation, such as an address and a credit card number, that can beused to bill the customer for services. Although the billing informationis preferably stored in database 230, the scope of the present inventionenvisions the use of other configurations including, for example, aseparate billing database for customer billing information.

[0040] Customers may also select passwords when establishing newaccounts, and the passwords can be changed at any time upon request. Thepasswords are stored in database 230.

[0041] (1) “Call Me Now” Function

[0042] Users select this function when they wish to place a call to aspecific telephone number immediately. This permits companies marketingproducts and services on the Internet to include on their web pages abutton or other indicator that users can select to make an immediatecall to the company to speak with a representative. For example, acatalog company may offer a particular article of clothing by displayingan image of the article on a web page. When a user (who may also beconsidered a customer of the catalog company) has a question about thatarticle, he can select the “call me now” button on the company's webpage to speak immediately with a company representative.

[0043]FIGS. 4 and 5 include a flow chart of the steps performed by webserver 210 for the “call me now” function. For this explanation it isassumed that the customer has already established an account andincluded a “call me now” button on its web page. Thus, when users selectthe button, using conventional techniques associated with a web browser(for example, pointing to a selection displayed on a web page with amouse pointer and clicking on a mouse button), a URL for web server 210is transmitted along with an account number that should correspond to acustomer account number stored in database 230.

[0044] After a user selects a customer's “call me now” button, webserver 210 receives the URL and a customer account number (step 410),and retrieves a stored web page for the customer and transmits the webpage to the user (step 420). The user's browser then displays the webpage. In this way customers can have unique web pages for this telephoneservice or use a default page provided by the system. The web pagetypically includes a field for the user to input the number of atelephone where he can be reached (“PHONE_NUM”).

[0045] After the user inputs the telephone number, the “call me now”request is complete. The user then instructs browser 320 to transmit therequest to web server 210. When a complete “call me now” request(including an account number (“ACCOUNT_NUM”) and phone number(“PHONE_NUM”)) is received (step 430), web server 210 accesses database230 to verify that the received account number corresponds to a storedcustomer account number (step 440), and retrieves from database 230 atelephone number for the customer (“CUSTOMER_NUM”) (step 450).

[0046] Web server 210 then initiates a call to the user's inputtelephone number (step 460). This step involves signaling telephoneswitch 220 to make to the call. Telephone switch 220 notifies web server210 when the user is on the line (step 470), e.g., the user picked upthe handset of the telephone, so web server 230 can play a recordedmessage selected by the customer (step 480). For example, the messagemay say “PLEASE HOLD WHILE WE CONNECT YOU TO A CUSTOMER REPRESENTATIVE.”Web server 210 also generates a new web page to indicate that the useris on the line and transmits the new page to the user's browser (step510).

[0047] Web server 210 then initiates a call to the customer's telephonenumber by signaling telephone switch 220 to make the call (step 520).Once web server 210 receives confirmation from telephone switch 220 thatthe customer is on the line (step 530), web server 210 sends a signal toconnect the call between the user and the customer (step 540). Webserver 210 then generates a new web page to indicate that both the userand the customer are on the line and connected, and transmits the newpage to the user's browser (step 550).

[0048] Web server 210 also monitors call status for changes (step 560).This is done by receiving signals from telephone switch 220 on theconnection between the user and the customer. If there is a change inthe connection, for example, a party hangs up or otherwise ends the call(step 570), web server 210 generates a new web page to indicate thechange, and transmits the new page to the user's browser (step 580). Inthis example, when a party hangs up the call is complete and, thus, theweb page transmitted to the user indicates that the call is complete.

[0049] (2) Customer Services

[0050] The “call me now” function is only one customer service providedby telephone service system 130. System 130 also permits customers tomake telephone calls, store/modify phone books, make conference calls,and store/modify conference call groups, i.e., multiple telephonenumbers for frequent conference calls. When a customer seeks to use anyof these services, he enters the URL for web server 210 into a webbrowser on a computer connected to the Internet. When web server 210receives the URL (step 610), it retrieves and transmits to the browser aweb page for the customer to log in to the system (step 615). Thecustomer uses the web page to input an account number (“ACCOUNT_NUM”)and password (or personal identification number, “PIN”) and transmitsthis information to web server 210. When the customer's logininformation is received (step 620), web server 210 accesses database 230to verify the account number and password (step 630). If verification isnot approved, i.e., the login information is incorrect or incomplete,the process returns to step 615 for the user to try again. Otherwise,web server 210 retrieves a web page indicating that the login has beenverified, accesses database 230 for customer preferences, such as astored telephone number for the customer and the customer's phone book(including conference call groups), transmits the web page verifying thelogin to the customer along with a listing of the available phoneservices (step 635). Web server 210 then waits to receive from thecustomer a service selection (step 640). The service selections include:(1) change the customer's default telephone number (i.e., the numberwhere the system can reach the customer), thus overriding the storedtelephone number for the customer (step 645, see FIG. 7), (2) use thestored phone book to, for example, modify an entry in the phone book ormake a call to a number stored in the phone book (step 650, see FIGS.8-10), and (3) make a conference call to a group stored in the phonebook (step 655, see FIG. 11). The customer can also select an option tomake a call immediately and input the telephone number for the call.

[0051] For greater security, however, the login procedure can include a“fire wall.” In this configuration, a separate server connected to theInternet may require the user to provide a customer identification andpassword. Once this customer information is verified against storedinformation for the customer, the fire wall server permits the customerto access web server 210 and provides the customer's browser with s webpage specifying available telephone services. After the customer passesthe fire wall server, a secure Internet connection between thecustomer's browser and web server 210 is established, preventing othersfrom tampering with the connection.

[0052] (I) Change Default Telephone Number

[0053]FIG. 7 specifies the steps performed by web server 210 in responseto a customer request to change the default telephone number (step 645of FIG. 6). The web page transmitted in step 635 includes a location forthe customer to specify a different default telephone number. When acustomer selects this function, he transmits the request along with thenew telephone number. This way a customer can use the system 130 fromany location where he has access to a telephone.

[0054] Server 210 preferably updates database 230 with the new telephonenumber so that the next time the customer logs in to the system that newnumber will appear as the default telephone number for the customer(step 710). After updating database 230, web server retrieves andtransmits to the customer's browser a web page confirming the change.

[0055] Alternatively, web server 210 may store the new telephone is atemporary field of the customer's record in database 230 and use thatnumber only during the current session (i.e., until the customer logsoff) to call the customer.

[0056] (ii) Phone Book

[0057] FIGS. 8 to 10 include the steps performed by web server 210 inresponse to a customer request to use the stored phone book (step 650 ofFIG. 6). First, web server 210 accesses database 230 to retrieve thestored information for the customer's phone book (step 810), retrieves astored web page used to display phone book information, and returns thephone book web page to the customer's browser (step 815). Phone bookinformation includes a list of telephone numbers and names. The phonebook web page returned to the customer (step 815) preferably includes analphabetical list (“A, B, C, . . . , Z”). When a customer selects aletter from the list, web server 210 generates and transmits to thecustomer a web page including all names in the phone book that beginwith the selected letter. Alternatively, web server 210 may simplyprovide a complete alphabetical listing of all names in the phone book.

[0058] According to the preferred implementation database 230 stores thephone books for all customers. To eliminate the storage demandsassociated with this configuration, the customer's phone book may bestored on the customer's computer and accessed using applets written inthe JAVA programming language and included in the phone book web page.Additionally, the system can be configured to use a customer's phonebook created and stored using other applications such as ECCOProfessional, manufactured by Netmanage Inc.

[0059] Web server 210 then waits for the customer to select one of thephone book operations: (1) modify the phone book, or (2) make a call toa person identified in the phone book (step 820).

[0060] When the customer selects the option to modify the phone book indatabase 230 (step 910), web server 210 retrieves and transmits to thecustomer's browser a web page for this selection. For example, when thecustomer indicates that he would like to modify an existing entry in thephone book, he may select the entry from the alphabetical listing. Inthis case, web server 210 would provide in a web page the currentinformation for the selected entry. This way the customer can simplymodify the appropriate parts (e.g., change the telephone number) of theentry.

[0061] When the customer has completed a modification, he instructs thebrowser to transmit the phone book modification URL with themodification to web server 210. When web server 210 receives themodification (step 920), web server 210 accesses and updates database230 accordingly (step 925), and transmits a web page to the customerconfirming the modification (step 930). This completes steps involved inmodifying entries in the customer's phone book.

[0062] A substantially similarly operation is used to delete and addphone book entries.

[0063] To make a call to the telephone number of a person identified ina phone book entry, the customer selects this option and notifies webserver 210 of the selection (step 820 in FIG. 8 and step 935 in FIG. 9).In response to this selection, web server 210 transmits the appropriateweb page to the customer's web browser and waits for the customer toselect an entry from the phone book. The process used to select an entryis the same as that described above with respect to the phone book entrymodification procedure.

[0064] The customer then instructs the browser to transmit the selectedphone book entry to web server 210, which is waiting to receive it (step945). Web server 210 then initiates the call to the customer bysignaling telephone switch 220 (step 950). When telephone switchreceives a signal indicating that the customer is on the line, ittransmits a signal to this effect to web server 210 (step 955).

[0065] Continuing in FIG. 10, web server 210 then generates andtransmits to the customer's browser a web page indicate that thecustomer is on the line (step 1010). Next, web server 210 initiates acall to the other party selected from the phone book and using thetelephone number from the phone book entry for that party (step 1015).When the other party receives the call, telephone switch 220 sends asignal to web server 210 that, in turn, sends a signal to telephoneswitch 220 to connect the call (step 1020). Web server 210 thengenerates and transmits to the customer's browser a web page indicatingthat both parties are on the call (step 1025).

[0066] Web server 210 also monitors call status for changes (step 1030).This is done by receiving signals from telephone switch 220 on theconnection between the user and the customer. If there is a change inthe connection (step 1035), web server 210 generates a new web page toindicate the change, and transmits the new page to the user's browser(step 1040).

[0067] In addition to storing names and telephone numbers in a phonebook, web server 210 also permits the customer to select several storedtelephone numbers to form a conference call group, which may be aseparate entry in the customer's phone book. This way when the customermakes frequent conference calls to the same group he does not have toselect the names from the phone book each time. Instead, he only needsto select the group for a conference call.

[0068] (iii) Conference Call Group

[0069]FIG. 11 specifies the steps performed by web server 210 inresponse to a customer request to make a conference call to a groupstored in the phone book (step 655 of FIG. 6).

[0070] The first step in this process involves the customer accessingthe phone book in the manner described above, selecting the a conferencecall group, including multiple party entries from the phone book, andtransmitting the selection to web server 210 (step 1110). Web server 210then retrieves and transmits to the customer's browser a web pagecorresponding to the conference call selection (step 1115). The page mayinclude a listing of the individual parties for the conference call.

[0071] Web server 210 initiates the call to the customer by signalingtelephone switch 220 (step 1120). When telephone switch 220 receives asignal indicating that the customer is on the line, it transmits asignal to this effect to web server 210 (step 1125). Web server 210 thengenerates and transmits to the customer's browser a web page indicatingthat the customer is on the line (step 1130).

[0072] Next, web server 210 initiates a call to a first party to theconference call selected from the group (step 1135). When the otherparty receives the call, telephone switch 220 sends a signal to webserver 210 that, in turn, sends a signal to telephone switch 220 toconnect the call (step 1140). Web server 210 generates and transmits tothe customer's browser a web page indicating that the parties are on thecall (step 1145). Web server 210 then determines whether there areadditional parties for the conference call (step 1150). If so, webserver 210 repeats steps 1135 to 1145 for each party.

[0073] Once all of the parties are connected, web server 210 monitorsthe status of conference calls for changes (step 1155). If there is achange in the connection, for example, a party hangs up (step 1160), webserver 210 generates a new web page indicating the change, and transmitsthe new page to the user's browser (step 1165). If telephone switch 220signals server 210 that all of the parties to a conference call havehung up, the web page indicates that the call is complete.

[0074] F. Conclusion

[0075] In accordance with the present invention enhanced telephoneservices can be made available over the Internet. The foregoingdescription of an implementation of the invention has been presented forpurposes of illustration and description. It is not exhaustive and doesnot limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Modifications andvariations are possible in light of the above teachings or may beacquired from practicing of the invention. For example, the describedimplementation includes software but the present invention may beimplemented as a combination of hardware and software or in hardwarealone. The scope of the invention is defined by the claims and theirequivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for initiating telephone calls on avoice network in response to requests from a data network comprising thesteps, performed by a processor, of: receiving a data network request toinitiate a telephone call; identifying a stored telephone numbercorresponding to the request; and signaling a switch to make a call onthe voice network to an instrument identified by the telephone number.2. The method of claim 2 , wherein the receiving step includes thesubstep of: identifying a user telephone number, and wherein thesignaling step includes the substep of: connecting an instrumentidentified by the user telephone number to the call.
 3. The method ofclaim 1 , wherein the receiving step includes the substeps of: providinga web page for user input and request selection.
 4. The method of claim1 , wherein the identifying step includes the substep of: accessing astored database in accordance with the data network request.
 5. A methodfor initiating a telephone call, comprising the steps, performed by aprocessor, of: receiving a network request identifying a telephonenumber and an account number; retrieving from the database a telephonenumber associated with the account number; and signaling a telephoneswitch to place a call connecting instruments corresponding to thetelephone number from the request and the telephone number retrievedfrom the database.
 6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the retrievingstep includes the substep of: accessing a database to verify the accountnumber.
 7. The method of claim 5 , wherein the signaling step includesthe substep of: displaying a status of the call.
 8. The method of claim5 , wherein the signaling step includes the substeps of: monitoring astatus of the call; and updating the status of the call to reflect anychanges; and displaying the status of the call.
 9. A method forproviding telephone services on a public switched telephone network froma data network, comprising the step, performed by a processor, of:receiving a customer request via the data network to modify a storedtelephone directory; modifying the telephone directory in accordancewith the request; receiving a new request to make a telephone call,including a telephone number from the telephone directory; and signalinga telephone switch connected to the public switched telephone network toplace a call connecting instruments corresponding to a stored telephonenumber for the customer and the telephone number specified in the newrequest.
 10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the modifying step includesthe substep of: notifying the customer that the requested modificationto the telephone directory has been made.
 11. The method of claim 9 ,wherein the step of receiving a customer request to modify the storedtelephone directory includes the sub step of: determining whether thecustomer has permission to modify the stored telephone directory. 12.The method of claim 11 , wherein the determining step includes thesubstep of: accessing a stored database for an account number for thecustomer.
 13. A method for providing telephone services on a publicswitched telephone network from a data network, comprising the step,performed by a processor, of: receiving a conference call request,including a customer number and a group identifier; retrieving from adatabase stored telephone numbers corresponding to the customer numberand group identifier; and signaling a telephone switch to place aconference call on the public switched telephone network connectinginstruments corresponding to the telephone numbers retrieved from thedatabase.
 14. A system for initiating telephone calls on a voice networkin response to requests from a data network comprising: an inputcomponent configured to receive a data network request to initiate atelephone call; a processing component configured to identify a storedtelephone number corresponding to the request; and a signaling componentconfigured to signal a switch to make a call on the voice network to aninstrument identified by the telephone number.
 15. The system of claim14 , wherein the input unit includes: means configured to identify auser telephone number, and wherein the signaling component includes:means configured to connect an instrument identified by the usertelephone number to the call.
 16. The system of claim 14 , wherein theinput component includes: means configured to provide a web page foruser input and request selection.
 17. The system of claim 14 , whereinthe processing component includes: an database accessing componentconfigured to access a stored database in accordance with the datanetwork request.
 18. A system for initiating a telephone call,comprising: an input component configured to receive a network requestidentifying a telephone number and an account number; a componentconfigured to retrieve from the database a telephone number associatedwith the account number; and a signaling component configured to signala telephone switch to place a call connecting instruments correspondingto the telephone number from the request and the telephone numberretrieved from the database.
 19. The system of claim 18 , wherein thecomponent configured to retrieve the telephone number from the databaseincludes: a database accessing component configured to access a databaseto verify the account number.
 20. The system of claim 18 , wherein thesignaling component includes: means for displaying a status of the call.21. The system of claim 18 , wherein the signaling component includes:means for monitoring a status of the call; and means for updating thestatus of the call to reflect any changes; and means for displaying thestatus of the call.
 22. A system for providing telephone services on apublic switched telephone network from a data network, comprising: afirst input component configured to receive a customer request via thedata network to modify a stored telephone directory; a componentconfigured to modify the telephone directory in accordance with therequest; a second input component configured to receive a new request tomake a telephone call, including a telephone number from the telephonedirectory; and a signaling component configured to signal a telephoneswitch connected to the public switched telephone network to place acall connecting instruments corresponding to a stored telephone numberfor the customer and the telephone number specified in the new request.23. The system of claim 22 , wherein the modifying component includes: acomponent configured to notify the customer that the requestedmodification to the telephone directory has been made.
 24. The system ofclaim 22 , wherein the first input component includes: a processingcomponent configureed to determine whether the customer has permissionto modify the stored telephone directory.
 25. The system of claim 24 ,wherein the processing component includes: a database access componentconfigured to access a stored database for an account number for thecustomer.
 26. A system for providing telephone services on a publicswitched telephone network from a data network, comprising: an inputcomponent configured to receive a conference call request, including acustomer number and a group identifier; a retrieving componentconfigured to retrieve from a database stored telephone numberscorresponding to the customer number and group identifier; and asignaling component configured to signal a telephone switch to place aconference call on the public switched telephone network connectinginstruments corresponding to the telephone numbers retrieved from thedatabase.